54,563 Shares in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Purchased by Gries Financial LLC

Gries Financial LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 54,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,329,000. Gries Financial LLC owned about 0.18% of Business First Bancshares at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BFST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,618,636 shares of the company's stock worth $41,599,000 after buying an additional 245,491 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,114 shares of the company's stock worth $20,512,000 after buying an additional 83,664 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 623,464 shares of the company's stock worth $16,023,000 after buying an additional 328,189 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 607,810 shares of the company's stock worth $15,624,000 after buying an additional 46,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 538,402 shares of the company's stock worth $13,837,000 after buying an additional 88,546 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BFST shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, July 8th.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $25,759.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,254.20. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of BFST traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $25.91. The company had a trading volume of 18,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,211. The firm has a market cap of $769.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.60 and a 200-day moving average of $24.75. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.04. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The business had revenue of $79.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, demand, money market, time, and savings accounts; and certificates of deposits, remote deposit capture, and direct deposit services.